A revised economic analysis of restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving.

Cohen JT, Graham JD.

Risk Anal 23(1):5-17, 2003

Evidence that cell phone use while driving increases the risk of being
involved in a motor vehicle crash has led policymakers to consider
prohibitions on this practice. However, while restrictions would reduce
property loss, injuries, and fatalities, consumers would lose the
convenience of using these devices while driving.

Quantifying the risks and
benefits associated with cell phone use while driving is complicated by
substantial uncertainty in the estimates of several important inputs,
including the extent to which cell phone use increases a driver's risk of
being involved in a crash, the amount of time drivers spend using cell
phones (and hence their aggregate contribution to crashes, injuries, and
fatalities), and the incremental value to users of being able to make calls
while driving. Two prominent studies that have investigated cell phone use
while driving have concluded that the practice should not be banned. One
finds that the benefits of calls made while driving substantially exceed
their costs while the other finds that other interventions could reduce
motor vehicle injuries and fatalities (measured in terms of quality adjusted
life years) at a lower cost. Another issue is that cell phone use imposes
increased (involuntary) risks on other roadway users. This article revises
the assumptions used in the two previous analyses to make them consistent
and updates them using recent data. The result is a best estimate of zero
for the net benefit of cell phone use while driving, a finding that differs
substantially from the previous study.

Our revised cost-effectiveness
estimate for cell phone use while driving moves in the other direction,
finding that the cost per quality adjusted life year increases modestly
compared to the previous estimate. Both estimates are very uncertain.